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Sure they can, just not the MP3s that belong to another application. Each application can put its own private data on the external storage. Most of the people
by matt_heimer 13y ago
Sure they can, just not the MP3s that belong to another application. Each application can put its own private data on the external storage.
Most of the people here don't get how scary external storage was with Android. Every time you install an app with the android.permission.WRITE_EXTERNAL_STORAGE permission you have to worry about what it will do to every other applications data. Some apps (like file managers) need this but letting every app that wants to write data to external storage have the ability to trash every other apps data is just crazy. The private app directories on external storage is a MUCH better approach.
And if you want to install apps that can trash other apps then I'm okay with needing root for that.
- andrewfong 13y agoSuppose I was previously using Media Player X and decide to try new Media Player Y. How does Media Player Y access the MP3s that were previously accessible to X? Likewise, if I uninstall X, will my MP3s disappear? As far as user expectations go, MP3s, videos, word docs, and a whole slew of other file formats don't and shouldn't really belong to any application.
- tadfisher 13y agoThe person you responded to neglected to mention Android's MediaStore provider, which can store common media in various standard directories on the SD card (like /DCIM and /Music), which has been the standard storage mechanism for media since 1.0 and is still available in Kit Kat.
- radley 13y agoMediaStore is a database, not a file system. It doesn't move, write, or "store" files. It just reads: http://developer.android.com/reference/android/provider/MediaStore.html http://developer.android.com/reference/android/provider/Medi...
- fidotron 13y agoHow naive you are! MediaStore is actually an unholy hybrid of database and filesystem. If you assume the data is entirely in one or the other (I mean, you didn't expect it to be consistent with itself, did you?) your code will break in different ways on different devices, since for some reason it's a favourite area of the manufacturers to play with.
- tadfisher 13y agoNo, it is a ContentProvider with a database-like API to which you have linked. The various system DocumentsProvider instances read and write to this provider. This is also the standard API you access through ContentResolver, and this is still present in Kit Kat.
- radley 13y agoSo every music player must store a unique copy of a music library? That's ABSURD! Are there bad apps? Sure, but PCs have had this problem for years and there hasn't been the kind of meltdown you describe. The problem isn't insecure SD storage. It's bad apps using sensitive data and not storing it securely.
- _ZeD_ 13y agoMP3s that belong to another application sorry??? Since when mp3 (or any media files) should belong to applications??? That data is the user data, it's not tied to a specific application.
- matt_heimer 13y agocentralized data should be accessed using a content provider https://developer.android.com/guide/topics/providers/content-provider-basics.html https://developer.android.com/guide/topics/providers/content...
- aidenn0 13y agoSo a content provider is a really shitty non-hierarchal file system. I don't see that as an improvement. What about backup/restore apps? Those want to save and restore everything. File systems are the worst general-purpose way to access data, except for all the other ways.
- krakensden 13y agoAnd if you want to download your Amazon mp3s but play them with a player that doesn't suck?